Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Pakistan and Tajikistan pledge to fight Taliban

DUSHANBE:Pakistan and Tajikistan on Wednesday pledged to step up efforts to fight the Taliban at a regional summit amid concerns about the spread of violence from neighbouring Afghanistan.

President Asif Ali Zardari pledged to work with his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmon on stemming the flow of weapons and ammunition to Taliban in the region.

The two states “condemn terrorism and extremism in all their forms and manifestations and express their readiness to cooperate closely, bilaterally ... in combating these twin threats”, said a memorandum signed by the leaders. Zardari spoke bluntly about the deteriorating security situation in the region.

“It (terrorism) threatens my brother’s country, it threatens my country and it threatens the neighbourhood. So once again, I reiterate that we will stand together against this threat of the 21st century,” Zardari told reporters. Tajikistan has been battling Taliban suspected of having fled security operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Just hours after the meeting between Zardari and Rakhmon, police said they had killed Nemat Azizov, a key member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

Rakhmon told Zardari that more needed to be done to maintain stability in the region.

Pakistan and Tajikistan also agreed to launch strategic dialogue on regional peace, security and development, and energy cooperation. agencies

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